I attended a great conference this weekend...the national conference of the National Speakers Association. You may remember that back in the spring, I announced that I had met one of my goals of achieving membership in the NSA. In order to earn my membership, I had to present 20 paid speaking engagements over the course of a year.

I was able to attend the 2015 conference which was held in Washington, DC. The theme of the conference was "Influence." The speakers were fabulous. I was awestruck and inspired by every speaker who took to the stage.

My message today is a reminder that all of us need to challenge ourselves to be better in our individual endeavors on a regular basis. What could you do in this next year that might inspire you to be better at something? It could be professional in nature or it could be personal...it would only need to be specific to you and your life.

I mention in the video which you can access here that one of the speakers pointed out that each one of us has beaten most of the odds by just being born. There is, she said, a 1 in 400 TRILLION chance that you can survive from the point of conception to wherever you are in your life right now. Think about that. Wow! I have to admit that that prospect made me sit up and take note.

She also said that given the slim odds of your making it this far, what is to say that the inspired thought you have on any given day at any given time isn't the very reason you are here? What if you don't act on it? What will the world be missing? The message was that we all have inspired thoughts...and it is up to us to act on them.

So, my "inspired thought" for today is to challenge you to think about how you might challenge yourself to be better. What can you do to improve your life so that you can be happier or so you can contribute to the happiness of a loved one? Whatever it is for you, do it. You won't be sorry.

Until next time.

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